Continuing an occasional series of blogs involving Rocky quotes, North Texas is abuzz [abuzz!] with the excitement of the first freeze of the year:
Tonight: blustery and COLD! There will be a strong northwest wind at 20-25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph. You’ll want to bundle up before you leave the house in the morning… wind chills will be in mid teens to mid 20s! ❄🥶 Stay warm, y’all! #txwx #dfwwx #ctxwx #texomawx pic.twitter.com/v6In4ZtwFB
— NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) October 30, 2019
But even this morning, even before the frigid [frigid!] cold moved in, I was gently reminded how accustomed I’ve become to the North Texas climate.
My morning routine is to wake up at 3 a.m., wander into the shower and, as warm water splashes over my face and my mind wakes up, I question why I thought a career as a radio journalist was the right move for a man who doesn’t care to wake up early.
Then I wander out to the car. [Update: That should read, I *get dressed* then wander out to the car.]
This morning, though, I wandered out and was immediately [immediately!] hit in the face by the cold.
“I thought the first freeze wasn’t scheduled until tomorrow,” I said to myself.
When I left home this morning, the National Weather Service reports it had only cooled to 44 degrees.
“I got civilized,” I continued, still to myself.
This led to a discussion in the newsroom, where I was explaining to anyone who would listen [but mainly to myself] that I had adjusted to the Texas climate.
Loyal Scaiaholics will recall a trip back home to Ohio where Mama Scaia took issue with me for feeling the need to put on a coat before wandering outside. Sure, it was the middle of winter, but it was a balmy day in the 30s.
She’s right: I have gotten soft. A few years ago, a snowstorm canceled my flight back to DFW after Christmas. To prove it, I sent my boss at WBAP a picture of me shoveling the driveway at the house.
You’ll notice the street hasn’t been plowed. When the Scaia boys were wee munchkins, we’d get the order to shovel the snow before those lazy fools from Washington Township showed up. Then we’d get the order to re-shovel [re-shovel!] the front of the driveway after the plow comes by because it leaves a mound of snow, blocking the cars in.
The Scaia parents were right to do it: it built camaraderie amongst us brothers, and I vaguely recall us piling up snow in the back of the driveway so we could sled down it afterward.
And we didn’t complain about the cold. We embraced [embraced!] the cold. In fact, it snowed a couple times on Halloween back home, but that didn’t stop the parents from taking us out trick-or-treatin’.
Now, though, I complain about an unusually early first freeze. One of my brothers lives in California, so when we go home for Christmas, our mom makes a point of telling us that she’s turning the thermostat up [up!] to 65 degrees for us kids who live in the south and frequently talk in italics.
